Just a Dream
by Sirhorsealot
Summary: One-Shot. Dipper and Mabel Pines have grown up, moved out and started a company together. But, upon the mention of their hectic summer in Gravity Falls when they were twelve, Mabel finds Dipper to have written it all off as a dream or overactive childhood imagination. Now, it's up to Mabel and two oddly familiar friends to bring back Dipper's memories with time travel.
Hello! This is an idea I thought up and I decided to make a One-Shot out of it. I don't know if I want to continue this or if anyone would actually read this if I did. So, review your thoughts. Remember, your opinions matter! Your support or negativity could push this to be continued or forgotten, remember that.

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Mabel was sorting papers, as usual. She'd taken a liking to her simple job as the second head of the Pines Corporation. Her brother, Dipper Pines, was, as usual, the main head. But, Mabel didn't mind. She found surprising comfort in sorting papers and pondering ideas proposed by Dipper. She didn't really need anything more. Dipper, on the other hand, needed control. He was, to say the least, a bit anxious and distracted when he wasn't the one running the show. Of course, Mabel filled in for him if he was ever sick or if he needed a break. That was just the kind of person Mabel Pines was. Perhaps it was because she had a know-it-all twin brother. Or, maybe, it was because of her unforgettable summer in Gravity Falls. She couldn't be sure. Mabel laughed a bit at that thought, knowing the answer beforehand. She knew her summer as a twelve-year-old would never fade from her memory or her thoughts. She was, to this day, still influenced by the supernatural happenings that wild summer. Then again, so was her brother. Dipper had been much more outgoing since then, or, for awhile, at least. After a few years, his confidence faded again. He even went through a depressed phase at the age of sixteen. It had gone up by then, but he still acted like a former shell of his better self. Mabel shook her head, shooing the thought away. She knew, deep down that he had to remember their summer in Gravity Falls. He just had too. Didn't he?

Mabel walked up to Dipper, tapping him on the shoulder. She breifly felt the smooth fabric of his suit with her index and middle fingers, entranced ever so slightly by it's comforting touch.

"Give me a moment, please." Dipper said politely to an employee before walking off and motioning for Mabel to follow him. Mabel did as he suggested, trailing behind her brother before they stopped at their office. Dipper closed the door gently, so not to let Mabel confuse anger with tested patience. "What did you want, Mabel?" Dipper asked, his voice having a pristine and professional tone to it. Mabel couldn't help but allow a few muffled giggles to escape her mouth before regaining her composure. Dipper sat down, his face impossibly deadpan.

"Sorry, Dipper. I just wanted to ask you a question. Do you... remember our time in Gravity Falls? Our first summer there, I mean." Mabel asked hesitantly. Her mind told her that he'd remember immediately, but a sinking feeling in her heart told her otherwise.

"Our... summer in Gravity Falls? Mabel, that was just a dream. Gravity Falls isn't even a real place." Dipper said nonchalantly, his body language insinuating that he was more peeved at Mabel that met the eye. Mabel's lower lip began to tremble, grim reality shaking her to the bones. How could he not remember? How could he write it off as... as a dream?! Mabel's despair did a spontaneous 180° turn and, suddenly, she was fuming. He was joking right? He couldn't be serious!

"Yeah, yeah. Real funny, bro. Now, come on. Do you remember or not?" Mabel tried again, her voice betraying her deep fear. Dipper just shifted his expression to one that meant 'Yeah, no. This isn't a joke.' Mabel just scrunched her face and by bunched up her fists and she promptly marched over to a big map on the left wall. She frantically searched in the Oregon section of the map for a little label pronouncing a place 'Gravity Falls.' She looked and looked, but had no luck. 'Damn it! It does exist!' Mabel protested mentally. "Look, I know it's not on the map. I'm kinda surprised no one found it by now, to be honest. But, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist!" Mabel exclaimed, fully aware that her reasoning was pathetic and could easily be dismissed as nothing. Dipper, however, got an interested expression out of that, and he stood up to face his sister.

"And where, exactly, is it? Even the North Pole is on a map. How about Gravity Falls? Nope, I don't see it." Dipper said, his calm voice and demeanor somehow managing to so thoroughly attack Mabel on an emotional level. Mabel could feel the warm tears falling from her eyes and blazing down her face. She turned and ran, leaving the building without much issue and driving off in about ten minutes. She arrived home an hour and a half later, her house being way out in the forest. She sat in the driver's seat, just crying. It was a good thing she forgot make-up that morning. Within minutes, her car was filled with her raspy breathing and sobs, her face overtaken by a flurry of tears. She finally composed herself to the point of ending her crying, going inside. She quickly changed into a tank top and a big, fluffy pink sweater with a shooting star on it. It was a recreation of her favorite sweater that she was to big to fit into now. She also slipped into some comfortable sweats, embracing her outfit's comforting fuzziness. Her previous sobs had been reduced to sniffles and occasional whines now, her own, handmade sweater relaxing her. Mabel's breathing returned to normal, with a shaky breath here and there and she was tempted to just draw her sweater over her head and shut out the world. But, she wouldn't. That was something a child would do. Mabel wasn't a child any longer, and neither was her bossy, stick-in-the-mud brother. Then, as that thought raced through her head, the doorbell rang. Mabel quickly put on a happy face and opened the door. She almost fainted when she saw who had come. They were, in essence, Dippers. Their skin looked pale and pasty, though and they had numbers on the hats they wore. They, however, were almost perfect copies of her brother when he was twelve.

"And... Wh-who are y-you?" Mabel asked, forcing the words out. These two just took away her breath and all rational thought from her mind. Who were they? Why did they look like her brother?

"Mabel? We, uh... We're Dippers Three and Four. Nice to... finally meet you?" One clarified. Mabel just felt herself get dizzy at the impossible beings before her. She couldn't even think straight. "Sorry to surprise you. We... We wanted to help you. That is, um, if you let us." One clone, number Three, said. Mabel just looked at them questioningly, unable to so much as utter a single word right now. She clamped her jaw tightly shut to refrain it from dropping down in shock. Three chuckled nervously. "We, uh, know that Dipper Classic has been forgetting about us. He... He just said we were a hallucination the last time we visited him. We... We want to help you to bring back his memories or help him realize it was real! Please! We have a whole plan! An overcomplicated one, too!" Three said, adding in the last bit overenthusiastically. Mabel chuckled a bit at it, somehow coming to terms with the clones of her brother before her eyes.

"Okay. What's the plan?" Mabel asked, playing along.

"Well, we need to remind him, right? But, he's past negotiating. So, we need him to relive his summer! That way, he'll have undeniable proof that that summer did happen." Three explained. Four nodded beside him. Was Four mute? Mabel just crossed her arms and thought.

"Okay. But, I need to see proof first." Mabel declared.

"Okay!" Three said excitedly, pulling out a nostalgic tape measure. It had an hourglass symbol on it's side in bright, futuristic blue. Mabel grabbed Four's hand as Four put his arm on Three's shoulder. Three pulled the tape measure and, all at once, they were gone.


End file.
